Coreopsis
by General Irosmosis
Summary: What happens when the past she thought she left behind comes back, and she has to face it? Can lost love be refound? Can the flame of adventure be rekindled? OcXIroh, slight Makorra! Rated T for possible violence?
1. Chapter One: Pleasant Surprise

**My first LoK fanfiction! Sorry the spacing is kind of funky, I'll try to adjust the later chapters to look better! Feedback is very much appreciated! Rated T maybe for violence?**

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**Chapter One: Pleasant Surprise**

"Arco!"

Meimei huffed, roughly shoving the stack of splintery fire wood into the small storage bin beside the furnace. She brushed her thick black bangs from her forehead, sighing with frustration.  
"Just because you're a bender doesn't mean you can slack off!" she yelled, poking her head around the corner of the small hallway.  
"Calm down, Meimei!" Arctos was bent over, kneeling on her hands and knees on the floor, "Why does the topic of bending always have to pop in these conversations?"  
"What _are_ you doing?" Meimei rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. Arctos brushed her palms on her loose, navy pants, then smiled, standing up,  
"That doesn't really matter now, does it?"Meimei narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth for a split second, then closing it again. "Just... Come with me." she motioned with her hand as she strode out of the house.  
Arctos followed silently as Meimei led her down the frostbitten path outside of their small estate,  
"First, my idiot cousin, twice removed mind you, comes in and lives in _my_ house..." she mumbled, shooting a glare back at Arctos, "Now her crazy friends are showing up."Arctos stopped,  
"Wait... Wha- Who?""Quit your stammering and keep up." Meimei snapped, quickening her pace.  
"Memei! Wait!" Arctos sprinted forward, "Are you saying someone is here to see me?" she shook her head, "Nobody is supposed to know I'm here..."  
Meimei scoffed, "Ms. Calm and Collected is suddenly loosing her cool! What's that all about, running from the law are you?"  
"Oh, please." Arctos rolled her eyes, "You really do want to find a reason to hate me..."  
"Shut up." Meimei muttered, stopping at a set of small gates opening into the larger estate. Two lamp posts stood tall, dim light bulbs humming pleasantly.  
Arctos ran a hand through her matted red hair, attempting to smooth out some of the curl and frizz. She wrapped her thick wool coat tighter around herself, burying her face in the collar, glancing sideways at her moody cousin.

Arctos was from a small village of earth benders, and she herself was one. Growing up, she had longed to go and see more of the world, and decided she wanted to spend six months with her cousin Meimei, who was less than happy with the idea. One morning, Arctos just showed up on her door step, and announced she would be a temporary guest.

"Are we going inside?" Arctos asked quickly, gazing up at the massive house.

"No you numbskull, we're cutting through the yard so keep quiet. You're friend insisted on getting you there as quick as possible."

"Why are _you_ taking me? Why can't I go myself?"

"This, _friend_, insisted that I make sure you get there- it seems he knows you well. Also," she patted her bulging pocket, "He payed very well."

Arctos stifled a smile as they passed through another gate leading into the dark forest. They crept down a small, winding path until they reached a small clearing with a rickety cottage.

"There," Meimei motioned, "He's inside." she then turned on her heel, striding away and murmuring under her breath. Arctos glanced toward the cottage, taking small cautious steps.

When she approached the rickety door, she pushed it open, fists ready.

"Hello?" she said timidly, then jumped to see a tall man with styled, black hair.

"It's been so long, Arco." he smiled warmly, and all of a sudden all of Arctos' fear melted away and a wide smile plastered her lips.

"What are you doing here?" she paused, "Why are you making such a big deal about this?" she laughed, thinking it was some secret mission or something. He smiled, walking closer to her,

"Well, I guess I did kind of go overboard, coming in the middle of the night in the center of the woods," he shrugged.

"Man, you're so dumb!" she snickered.

"Alright, alright, any other negative comments you'd like to make?"

Arctos punched him in the shoulder playfully, brushing her fiery red hair behind her shoulder. "You're the same as the last time I saw you! It's been ages, Iroh!"

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**Thank you for reading! Please subscribe or leave feedback!**

**Just so you know, I chose the name Arctos after the species of bear, just because I imaged this fiery, hot spirited earth bender!**


	2. Chapter Two: Run Away

**Second Chapter! I know it's really quick paced, but It'll slow down once I get more into it! Please review!**

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**Chapter Two: Run Away**

General Iroh eased himself into a chair beside a small table, Arctos taking the seat across from him. She smiled as he poured her some tea,

"I'm guessing this wasn't just a social visit, was it?" she said after taking a sip. Iroh sighed, looking off to the side. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before he cleared his throat,

"Look, I know I left things in a pretty... Rocky position," Arctos snorted, "But I want to fix them. I want to fix us." he smiled warmly. Arctos sat still, leaning back in her chair,

"So, this is a social visit?" she tapped her fingers slowly on the table, "Iroh-"  
"I know, it's fine if you don't want to get back together with me, I _know _I wouldn't if I were in your position. I just, don't want us to be on bad terms."

"Iroh, I can't believe you came all this way to tell me that." she laughed, "I know the village is small but we still have a telephone."  
"Come, on, run away with me!" he said in a hushed voice.

"Well that was sudden, what are we, teenagers?" Arctos snickered,  
"I mean, leave this small village, let's just spend some time together, you and me. We can get to know each other all over again."

"You know, I came to this village for an adventure, to leave my old village behind..."  
"What kind of an adventure is _this_?" he said, bewildered, "Come with me for real adventure," he paused, "Maybe we can fix everything, too."

Arctos paused, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Iroh smiled, darting from his seat and motioning for her to follow,  
"Probably."

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"Come on Meimei!" Arctos burst in through the front door of her house. Iroh grabbed her wrist, pulling his face close to hers,  
"Wait, Why are you calling Meimei?"  
"She's coming with us, of course!"

Iroh let his grip on her slip as she ran inside to collect what few things she had. A very agitated Meimei sat still on the couch.  
"What are you yelling about?" she groaned,

"We're going on an adventure with 'General Iroh,' isn't that exciting?"

Iroh stood as far away from Meimei as possible as they got their things together. He was surprised such a scary woman had agreed to coming along. Why Arctos had thought bringing Meimei was an option was beyond his understanding.

It was too late to say otherwise, though.

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Iroh, Meimei and Arctos left the village very quietly and walked quite a ways before coming to a secret harbor with a half-sized war ship sat stagnant.

As they boarded the ship, Iroh gave Meimei the room farthest from himself as he could, and let Arctos share his room. It wasn't a very large ship, compared to his normal ones, so he was always on his toes.

"Iroh," Arctos sighed as they finally set off. She had on her normal clothes, thick woolen coat wrapped tightly around her as they sailed into the open sea.

"Hmm?" he answered vaguely, scribbling something on his desk. She sighed again, looking back at him,

"Why did we... You know..."  
"Separate?" he answered softly.  
"Yeah... I feel like it was over something really stupid. I honestly can't remember anymore."

Iroh set his pen down, turning in his chair to look at her as she gazed into the starry sky.  
"I feel like a jerk," she mumbled, "I was just scared."  
"Arctos," Iroh said firmly, "Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have been so insensitive. It was bad enough you were under that pressure from all your family, that I started putting more unnecessary pressure on you."

"Let's talk about this later..." Arctos smiled.  
_Just as I got her to open up..._ Iroh bit the inside of his cheek as he smiled, "Alright."  
"I should be getting to sleep, goodnight, Iroh!"  
"Yeah, goodnight Arco."

Iroh pretended to busy himself as she got ready for bed, and eventually fell asleep. On the outside, he seemed as calm and collected as ever. On the inside, though, he was an emotional wreck.  
Arctos was pretty oblivious to feelings, and getting her to open up was rare. He was hoping to get more out of her once she had started speaking, but the conversation they had just had left him feeling drained.


End file.
